Field Reports

WEST CHESTER, Pa. — In early April, QVC named Michael George president and chief executive officer. He replaces Doug Briggs, who had been in the position since 1995.

Michael George

George said in earlier reports that he does not intend on making a lot of changes at the television-shopping channel, but QVC is trying to capitalize on the reality TV trend. For instance, in "Room for Improvement," QVC makes over rooms in average homes and then sells the showcased products used in the transformation.

George joined the company in November as president- and CEO-elect. He had been chief marketing officer of Dell Inc. and general manager of its $8 billion U.S. consumer business. Before Dell, he was a senior partner at the management-consulting firm McKinsey & Co. and led the company's North American retail industry group.

In another personnel move, QVC also named Jeff Charney to the position of senior vice president of marketing and chief marketing officer. In this role, Charney is responsible for setting the creative marketing vision and direction for the company's marketing team, which includes public relations, marketing, creative services, special events and retail operations.

Marcum Builds Upon Decades of Success

For more than two decades, Nancy Marcum has been one of the most recognizable names in the direct response world. Founder, president and CEO of Marcum Media, a media management and infomercial consulting company in Phoenix, she has been part of some of the industry's most successful campaigns, including the famed "Amazing Discoveries" series of shows hosted by the late Mike Levey, as well as the author of "Do You Want to Make a Million?" Recently, Response caught up with Marcum to find out the latest about her and her company.

Marcum

Q. What's Marcum Media's latest DRTV success story?

A. We've had Magnassager on the air for about [eight] months now (at press time). Before we worked with them, the product never had a media efficiency ratio (MER) over two. The show needed some help. We saw that the upsell configuration was off. We advised them on the price point and finding a product to complement the offer on the back end. We also helped switch telemarketers and shortened the scripts. The cost-per-call fell from $12 to $7 and the MER is now 2.54. The product grossed more than $1 million in a single month a few months back.

Q. What does Marcum Media do for DR marketers that you believe sets it apart?

A. We've been in the trenches. I've owned my own products and handled every bit of the process that goes into a DR campaign. We've dealt with consumers, product positioning, set-up, profit margins — we've had it all in-house at one point or another. Our main course today is that marketers come in with a finished show, ready to go. But often, there are problems with that "finished" show. If more inventors would come to experienced media companies first, we could stop a lot that goes wrong with inexperienced production companies.

Q. What are your plans for the future of Marcum Media?

A. We just bought a piece of land to build our own building. We're expanding and moving in about six months. We have three new shows in production: cosmetics, hair care and a motivational product. We've also picked up a new makeup account with model Rachel Hunter as the spokesperson. We keep moving ahead and doing what we do best. That's what we plan to do in the future.